I am sad (but also glad) to admit this, but this week has been the first week where I have really thought about the Lord throughout the work week since I moved out to Orange County. In the weeks prior to this week, I struggled reading the Word – maybe because I was trying to read too much at a time, maybe because I was still adjusting to my new schedule, maybe a culmination of several different things…I don’t know. Something wasn’t working. 

This last Sunday, as I have done for the last several Sundays, I attended Sea Breeze Church in Huntington Beach. It was great! Alli and myself showed up about 8 minutes late and missed the first two songs, but got there in time to hear the last few songs and the most important part of the service for me that day – the message. 

We’re in the 2nd message of a three part series on the Environment of Growth. There were several times that I was in tears from the message because of this…..

As the pastor was speaking on this “Cycle of Commitment”, I realized that I was in a serious time of ‘decay’ (I roughly define this as pressure from the world on our soul because we were not made to dwell in this place – the pastor defined this term with much more eloquence), and I was choosing to ‘detach’ instead of ‘develop’. I was wasting the time I had been given to grow in the Lord while in a new, challenging environment. 

By the time the ushers were passing out the elements for communion, I was tearing up and emotional. At some point in the service, Philippians 1 was being read and I realized that that is what I was going to begin studying. 

If you didn’t get a chance to read Philippians 1:1-11 in my post from yesterday, read it now! I will be reading this passage every day this week and focusing on a different prompt each day.

Today’s prompt is: Read the passage and record any commands you find. Read the passage again, this time record anything you learn from the example of others.

Hope you can join me in this journey of development and choosing to avoid detachment by getting in the word to know God more and meditating on the truth of his Word as it applies to our every day lives.